Under the Tuscan Sun

A fashion photographer friend once told Jacob that he likes shooting in Italy best because the light falls in a special way. 
It's more golden somehow.
It diffuses like particles of liquid honey.

Well, we finished up in London, which was pretty traumatic, so we thought it might be wise to see and feel some bonafied liquid honey sun.

And we weren't dissapointed.

This post will be largely pictorial because
a) I'm feverishly trying to catch up on this whirlwind week and a half we spent tromping around Europe now that our London life is over, and
b) that means I should keep my stupid fingers shut because
c) Tuscany speaks for itself.

You see, the thing about Tuscany is that it actually looks the way it does in calendars.

And even the best of point-and-shoots couldn't do it justice.

It seeped into my veins and filled me with a dazzling new optimism. 

I am so thrilled about existence.

Even  after getting extremely lost late at night and getting off a random bus in a tiny town with no taxis or buses or anything.

And the pizza rocks.

And I am so in love.

Ciao Toscane,

Banana

Don't mind me, I'm just a summer fairy

My Brookie in Christmas Meadows

In my current jobless, schooless state, my primary project is to fill in some of the pot holes of this, the pot hole summer. (On a good day I call it "The Summer Without Men," On a really good day I call it "Girl Power Summer," And in Paris I called it "Un été sans les hommes.")

That means

1. bunny.

her official names are: Noble Beast (Bea for short) and Tulip.
But mostly she is Little Bunny Naughty Bun.

 2. sunday croquet matches.

complete with puppy, kitten, and a lot of candy.

 3. crafts and arts and readings on the lawn.

Brookie and Bun.

 4. mountains, meadows, nature, best friends, skinny dipping, making music, and daisy chains.

Don't mind me, I'm just a summer fairy.

 Banana.

Lost and Found

And now, the moment you've been waiting for.

DUN DUN DUN DUN! ta daaaaa:

The rapidly growing list of everything I've lost/ broken/ otherwise rendered useless on this little tripsie of mine:

• laptop.
• ipod (Shea's. not mine.) 
• camera.
• sunglasses (Ryan's. not mine.)
• umbrella.
• debit card.

Aaand the much less cringe-inducing list of everything I've gained:

• A wham-bang finish to my study abroad program in Lyon and Geneva.  
• A last-minute change of plans to see places I've always wanted to like:

Italy

Venice.

 

 

Bari.

Ravenna.

 Slovenia

Koper.

 Croatia

Dubrovnik. (My new favorite place?)

We followed our honeymooner friends on a ridiculously cheap cruise in a surprising act of spontaneity.

And saw some more of the world.

And took a scarey overnight train and woke up in Paris and somehow got to Rotterdam.

Love, towel animals, and no time to miss Paris,

Banana

p.s. I think I've just, in one go, posted more pictures of myself than on my whole blog combined and I feel weird about that and like I need to explain. We made a goal of actually taking pictures of ourselves since we never do, so now I'm in all of them. Oh bother.

spirit of the wolf [among other things]

OH, I really had the loveliest of weekends.

There's just nothing like one of your childhood sweethearts coming home after two months of having very few playmates to romp about with.

So Friday, Miss Laura and I checked out artfest in downtown Coeur D'Alene, which, as expected, was lovely and artistic.

But probably the best art of the evening was the mural we accidentally discovered when we forgot where we had parked.

I really felt that I bonded with these warriors.

After all...I know every rock and tree and creature

has a life,

has a spirit,

has a name.

our star-crossed love spans across space, time, culture, and dimension [literally].

...and then came Saturday.

Oh! Saturday! Oh DAY of DAYS!

Honestly, a great portion of my 3-5 pms [pacific time] on Saturdays and 6-8 pms [also pacific time] on Sundays for most of my life have included looking forward to this very particular Saturday that happened to take place two days ago

on which

my Father and I

attended a live broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor.

!!! I know, right?

And though the show often makes jokes about no one under 50 being aware of it, I have been a die-hard fan since a little girl and I already mourn the day when this, the last of the great radio shows, retires for good.

Seriously though, there is something so magical about radio acting!

And fake advertisements from the Catchup Advisory Board and Professional Organization of English Majors.

And hearing beautifully and sarcastically crafted tales [often primarily ad-libbed] about familiar landmarks in my ole' hometown.

And good, gritty bluegrass music that makes my heart soar and hands clap [despite my well-documented hatred of "the collective clap." This audience did pretty well with it, though]

Anyway,

the point is I was much too enthralled to remember to take any pictures. So there you have it.

But, on the way, we did stop at the very Taco Time that my dad went to on his very first date! In 1972. How precious is that?

this is his response to "Make a first date face!"

[also I believe our lovely cashier is posing jubilantly]

love, wolves, and nostalgic burritos,

Banana

all about the girl who came to stay

Last weekend was magical for me, and I'll tell you why.

After living together in Hawaii, Jerusalem, and Utah,

Alyssa [aka Gracie] and I finally spent time together in the good ole' homeland: The Inland Northwest.

I'll admit it. I'm really lonely these days. Being home and earning money is good but, you know.. it's a little stagnant. And well...

...well, it was a wonderful relief to have a sleepover with a beautiful, darling friend and meet up with two other darling friends [Kali and Bryson] to go to an amazing concert [The Five Browns; website here ] at the Fox theatre:

beautiful stage. beautiful pianos [oh, those pianos!].

My favorite piece was probably "Claire de Lune." Six hands on one piano playing one of the most beautiful melodies of all time. Exquisite!

The five magical siblings themselves, complete with terrible red eye [yeah, it's kind of a creeper shot. What can I say?]. 

And then we frolicked through gardens of all kinds in Manito Park on the South Hill of Downtown Spokane. The lilac garden was in full bloom, and you could smell it before you could see it. We had a great time taking pictures (all the good ones are on her Nikon), had a gluten-free, dairy-free picnic lunch, went to Auntie's bookstore, got the lovely lady some new pointe shoes, and explored all day long.

It was such a beautifully sunny day [in so many ways].

the infamous MEOW! bench

please come back, Gracie. I had a lovely time.

love, flowers, and isn't it friday yet?

-Banana

Milk and Honey

In case you've been wondering where I've been the last four or so months...

It's been somewhere like bliss.

Jerusalem.Galilee.Egypt.Jordan. 

And now that my life is nice and dull again, I'm sure I'll once more be a full-time blogstress.

BUT

"Your name will stain my lips forever,

like a seraph's kiss, untold,

if I forget thee, golden city,

Jerusalem of Gold."

Salam and Shalom,

one forever-changed Banana

p.s. For a more detailed history, dearfriend Kali and I kept up something of a Holy Land blog. click-a-roo-roo!